Among the possible doubts that may arise when we start the appraisal process of a property, this may appear: will I need to provide any document to the appraiser? Although in the most common case (the valuation of homes) the documentary requirements are not high, depending on the type of property and the use that is being made of it, the requirements increase, as you can see in the following infographic:
The documentation required for a mortgage appraisal is defined in Article 8 of Order ECO 805/2003. Thus, the common requirement for any type of real estate is the provision of registry documentation, necessary to carry out a correct identification of that which is to be valued. And, as we have commented on other occasions, a mortgage appraisal certifies the value of one or several registered properties, which are those objects of law on which the mortgage will be encumbered and registered. Therefore, the first check carried out by the appraiser is whether the description of the property in the registration documents coincides with the reality that he/she perceives during the on-site inspection (in terms of address, boundaries, surface area and other characteristics). For this reason, a registry certificate or nota simple less than three months old, or a photocopy of the land registry book or property deed, must be provided.
Likewise, it is a general requirement to provide cadastral documentation, i.e., the Descriptive and Graphical Consultation of the property that can be obtained at the Electronic Headquarters of the Cadastre, although this is usually obtained directly by the appraiser himself. In some occasions, when the registry documentation induces some type of doubts of identification, the appraiser can ask for a receipt of the IBI or a Cadastral Certification in which it can be verified that the registry holder of the property appraised coincides with the cadastral holder of the visited property.
From this point on, the documentary requirements increase depending on the different circumstances of the property being appraised:
- Thus, if the property is rented or has been assigned for use, the rental contract and a receipt or proof of payment of the last rent must be provided for its valuation, which will be used to determine the value of the property by the rent update method.
- In case the property is subject to some type of official protection (for example, VPO housing), it will be necessary to have the qualification certificate, or official documentation in which the maximum legal value and the term of protection are accredited.
- If the property, in the case of a building, is in the project or construction phase, all documentation will be requested to verify the characteristics and legality of the project, as well as the state of progress of the works.
Finally, some requirements are established for certain particular types of properties:
- Whether premises, offices or other elements (other than dwellings and garages) belonging to a building are valued, or an entire building is valued, the bylaws of the community of owners must be provided, in order to verify whether these limit in any way the uses and activities that may be carried out therein. In the latter case, documentation of property damage insurance will also be required.
- Both in economic operations (e.g. hotels, educational and health centers, factories, etc.) and in rural properties, it is necessary to have documentation that proves the economic yield obtained from their operation. Additionally, in the case of rural properties, the relevant documentation must be provided to accredit their exploitation regime and the irrigation rights that affect them.
- Finally, for the valuation of land, it is necessary to have an urban planning certificate or equivalent documentation proving the type of land and, if applicable, its urban development and the conditions for its development.
As can be seen, the documentation requirements established by the regulations respond to the need to verify whether there is any condition or circumstance on the property that may affect its value, so it is essential that all these documents be made available to the appraiser in order to obtain a correct and accurate valuation.
